Category Archives: On Fire

Firefighters are well known to provide services for public safety. Fortunately, these firefighters grouped themselves to form bands and continue to provide services other than rescue during fires. The firefighter band is generally formed to pay homage to their co-firefighters, their families and the community. Today, these bands group themselves for a good cause.

In Allen Park, the members of the fire departments of Wayne County gathered together for the family of their brother who was killed during a fire rescue. All the proceeds of the event will go to the Westland department charity to help the bereaved family.

This is a sad moment for the department since the firefighter was the first killed firefighter in the history of the Westland department for the last 47 years. He was barely new, only ten months of service to the department.

He left his wife with a one year old daughter named Ava. The firefighters of Wayne-Westland created a trust fund for his daughter, Ava. This fundraising event was a collective effort between the firefighters and the restaurant owner, in fact, the owner donated 10% of the night’s sale. They held two raffles and passed a fill the boot to customers who could spare some amount for the charity event. Fortunately, they raised over $5,000 for the family excluding the restaurant’s pledge.

On the other hand, the members of the Carmel fire department are helping their own colleague. He was not hurt during a fire but got seriously hurt, he fell in his home. He broke his arm, nose and worse, he is unfit to work anymore. With his situation, the firefighters are doing their own share to help by leading a fundraising campaign to pay hospital bills and cover his daily expenses. They just had a spaghetti dinner that lasted for two hours, the venue was the Carmel Firehouse to accept any amount of cash donation. Some local business groups such as silver olas tile cleaners and some other local companies

Stories like these led by firefighters band members are living proof that even in their own small ways, they can provide help to their own colleagues who need them most.

In general, firemen protect public safety by putting out fires and respond to emergencies. Trainings are offered in the fire departments or their branches and colleges, candidates need to undergo rigorous physical, medical and written tests. Most of the fire departments require candidates to have a certificate of the Emergency Medical Technician.

Program Education

For firefighter candidates, the training lasts for six weeks until four months, this is a combination of classroom and practical instruction. To become a trainee, he must be able to work 40-50 hours each week in the program, upon completion he will receive a firefighter certificate. For those who want to pursue this career, the training is intense and deals more with practical training. The whole training involves the following areas:

Fight and prevent fires

Management of hazardous materials

Inspection of smoke detectors

Treatment of injured victims during the fire

Also, trainees will learn how to operate fire equipment like hoses, ladders, fire extinguishers, chainsaws and axes. For an associate degree program, there is a fire academy that provides education about fire science.

In a classroom setting, the trainees will study procedures of search and rescue, fire science and building codes of the locality. For advanced courses, they cover disaster preparedness, arson and educate people about fire safety. During the field exercises, the trainees will be tested by putting them on obstacle courses for agility test, train them on how to respond in challenging situations like fires in cars, crawl spaces, buildings and subways.

In big cities, firefighters have to undergo paramedic training and get a certification in fire academy programs. Also, the EMT basic training is focused to provide emergency medical care and more advanced trainings in the intermediate level.

For those who want to be part of their municipal firefighters, they need to pass a physical stamina, fitness and strength tests, medical examination and written exam. Upon employment, firemen are subject to random drug tests.

Finally, becoming a firefighter needs continuous training to be equipped with knowledge and skills required.

Firefighters use a lot of equipment in fighting fire. Some of these are helmet, turnout gear or bunker gear, and firefighter gloves. Let’s learn about them one by one.

Firefighter Helmet

The helmet is a protective head gear that’s made up of a polycarbonate material. The kind of helmet that the fighters use has reflective stripes so that they can be seen in conditions where it may be difficult for others to see them. It has an eye-protective shield that would deflect radiation, heat, and flying objects that may fall right in their faces during certain operations. Protective ear flaps that come down over the back of the neck and ears protect from radiant heat and an assembly that adjust the fighters’ head band to suit their needs on the fire ground.

Firefighter Turnout Gear or Bunker Gear

The turnout gear is comprised of an outer shell, which is made up of fire-retardant material. Inside of the outer shell, there is an inner liner comprised of moisture barrier. Many believe that the outer shell is a flame-proof material, but it is really not. It is only fire resistant. In actuality, a firefighter’s turnout clothing can be damaged by fire after about three seconds of direct flame contact. Also, the gear doesn’t have to be damaged by fire to cause a burn injury.

Firefighter Gloves

These gloves are especially designed to protect the fighters from fire. Firefighter gloves should be rated by the NFPA for the purposes of structural firefighting. Any other work glove will not suffice for the job.

A firefighter’s job is not easy and the processes he goes through are rigid. The competition is stiff and the whole process of hiring is very challenging and gruelling, in fact, so many applicants cannot endure or be successful in this field. Statistics show that 70% or more who take the initial step gave up and pursue another career.

If you have the passion to become a firefighter, these essential things to do are the requirements to become a firefighter.

Be A Certified Emergency Medical Technician

Most of the departments require their applicants to become certified Emergency Medical Technician and by the time they are hired, over 90% of them require their staff to be certified. These departments require this certificate as a prerequisite because the firefighter responds to emergencies.

Practice Volunteerism

Become a volunteer even if it is non-fire related, the experience matters most. A firefighter must have the ability and desire to serve the community and doing volunteer works is a good training. Also, when you are a volunteer to different organizations and activities, these will build up a good resume for beginners or starters. If you do not have an experience, try joining the American Red Cross, they need many volunteers and instructors as well. Also, joining burn camps are good ways to experience volunteerism and to start create a network with fire professionals. Other activities worth helping are those involved in habitat for community, homeless shelters, big brother programs and many more. After all, the fire service is about reaching the community that needs your services.

Take Classes About Fire Technology

Typically, fire technology is not a requirement when you apply to become a firefighter but having the knowledge and certificate is a plus factor on your resume. Taking classes about fire technology shows commitment, initiative and dedication towards your chosen career. The best way to invest a good future is to enroll in classes that involves about firefighting. Usually, fire departments provide five hours training in fire behavior and three hours for building construction, these are two of the most essential trainings a firefighter needs to have. Taking an initiative to enroll and take a one semester class is a big factor to help you become an effective firefighter.

Clean Lifestyle and Background

Living a clean lifestyle and background will help you stand out in a rigid competition you are in. Develop a lifestyle that will create a positive environment, this will help you become more motivated and be the best. Being a firefighter needs the right attitude and commitment, having a positive lifestyle and background will help you stand out and influence others.

These are the firefighter requirements you need to know if you would like to become one.

Firefighter duties range from ensuring fire safety to protecting and serving the community from fire and responding to EMS calls and other things of that nature. A typical day for firefighters starts out with a good workout first thing in the morning to get ready for the day. Then they come back, eat some breakfast, and get ready for whatever is next.

Ordinary Day Tasks

Usually, after they get breakfast, they work on duties that are assigned to them at the station, like doing the dishes, cleaning the station, keeping the rigs clean, and other tasks that involve maintenance and checking. They also do vehicle checks; this is usually the first thing they do because the vehicle has to be ready for the day. Most firefighters cross-train with an ENT or paramedic. Most of the calls they respond to are medical calls.

Firefighters are cross-trained so they can automatically respond to emergency calls. Most of them are trained to respond fast. This way, they can save more people who are hurt.

Fire Calls

When firefighters do get a fire call, they must respond to the call the way trained firefighters should and they should be able to deal with the situation. They have their assigned seats in the vehicle. Their seating position in the vehicle would represent the position of their job in proportion to the fire.

There is the engineer at the front who drives the fire truck and is in charge of pumping the vehicle. He is also in charge of making sure that the water gets to the firefighters who will enter into homes or buildings to fight fire. Usually, these firefighters who enter into homes or buildings are those sitting at the back of the fire truck. The captain sits on the passenger’s seat.

The captain oversees the safety of his people and the whole operation. He sits on the fire truck as commander and takes care of everything that needs to be done. He tells his men where they need to be and what they should do and makes sure that they are safe. What people forget about fire fighting is the use of water to put out the fire also damages the structure with water damage. So if a good portion of the house is saved , minimal damage by smoke or fire, the rest of the areas can be flooded . This requires a professional restoration company . Local water damage restoration companies should be screened and checked up on for reviews on top internet sights such as google reviews, yelp , angies list and so on. Referrals from friends also will help ensure a quality contractor to do water and fire damage repair and remediation.

The firefighter band instruments needed when they form a pipe and drum band are composed of pipes and drums. Back then, the most common pipe band is the Scottish pipe band, it consists of different sections such as the pipers, snare drummers, tenor drummers and occasionally there are bass drummers.

The whole drum section is called a drum corps while the bass drummer and tenor drummers are collectively known as bass section. The pipe major leads the direction and during parades, the drum major leads the whole band. The standard instrumentation needed to become a pipe band involves 6-25 pipers, 3-10 side drummers, 1-6 tenor drummers and only one bass drummer. In some occasions like a concert setting, they augment instrumentation like keyboard or percussion instruments.

On the other hand, instruments for marching percussion are also part of the band. These instruments are specifically designed for a band that moves. Usually, they attach the drums into a special harness. The drums are tuned and designed for the projection and maximum articulation of sound since marching activities are often held outdoors or in very large spaces. Articulation means that the sound produced by drummers must be clean. The instruments they use are the following:

Snare drums – the marching snare drums differ than those normally used for drum kit or orchestral purposes. This type of snare drum gives a full and big sound necessary in the outdoors. The standard sizes are 14×12 and 13×11 inches and weigh 16-47 pounds. However, smaller sizes have been used lately.

High tension drums – these drums were perfected in the market of pipe bands and later became popularly used in the drum corps and marching band areas. The bottom of the drum has a synthetic gut and head, tightly tuned to achieve a more staccato sound. When used outdoors, a scoop or projector is attached to produce a sound that moves forward to the audience.

These are the band instruments used by pipe and drum firefighter bands.

We all know how to call the fire department in case of fire. We all hear stories of how firefighters are like superheroes who arrive in time of need to save the day. These stories may have inspired many people to become firefighters. But the question is how to become a professional firefighter.

If you want to become a professional firefighter, the first thing you obviously need to do is to take a class in a fire department. If you pass the test, the fire department will train you to become a firefighter by putting you through all the things that are necessary to take the test through the state. Once you pass all the tests, you can be hired as a volunteer in the department where you belong.

You can be a volunteer for a number of months or over a year, and from that you can attend other classes, such as EMT class, so you can acquire a few more skills. All these classes and training will give you the opportunity to be better for the job. Learning and education are always better if you want to become a professional.

After this, you can look for grants or offers that seek full-time firefighters to work for them. Firefighting is a full-time job, and you have to be committed at all times as far as your responsibilities are concerned. There may be other requirements involved during the hiring for a professional fighter, but having a voluntary experience and additional training would be a huge factor.

Requirements

If you want to become a professional, the best thing to do would be to go to school and accomplish the things that the university requires. Get your entire Math, English, Sciences, and other courses taken, then you can attend in a firefighter class. There are colleges in your state or area that offer such courses with a good program. There are fire departments that also conduct classes.

If you want to continue your education, you can go on and get your EMT, Paramedics, and other advanced classes. The more advanced courses you take, the better off you will be. And if you are certified, the more opportunities you will have to become a professional. It would really be an advantage if you will attend training classes and pass the certification exam. However, ensure you are physically fit before doing so because this is a job that requires physical strength.

Generally, firefighter services are private or public organizations that provide emergency rescue and firefighting services in a particular jurisdiction. Usually, a fire department has one or more stations and the staff are composed of volunteer firefighters, career firefighters or a combination of these two.

Also, a fire department provides services such as fire protection and fire prevention. With this, firefighters are tasked to visit every household within their jurisdiction to give advices about fire safety and smoke alarm systems to the members of the community. In most countries all throughout the world, fire prevention and protection play an important role in their fire service. They believe that fire prevention at the initial stage can save people’s lives.

In addition, municipal or public fire departments carry out enforcement roles to make sure that commercial establishments such as factories, offices, hotels and others are equipped with necessary fire precautions. This is an endeavor that they regularly monitor to ensure safety among people in these premises or they can evacuate unharmed.

The fire department is an organized system composed of administration, training, operations and services. They are responsible to do the following:

Administration – they are responsible for budgets, supervision, human resources and policy making.

Training – they are responsible for creating skilled and well-equipped staff. They conduct trainings and workshops to increase knowledge and perform their duties well.

Operations – they perform their tasks to save the people from harm.

Services – they offer safety, education and protection to the public.

Normally, fire departments are set up to have fire stations and equipped with sophisticated apparatus. They strategically deploy these apparatus so that dispatchers can send fire trucks, fire engines and ambulances directly to the affected area. For larger departments, they have sub-stations to increase support, research, volunteers and efficiency of their services. The volunteers are considered advantage of the department especially if there is an emergency while the support team organizes the resources both inside and outside the department. Also, research is vital in every department since they provide new technologies that are applicable to a more efficient delivery of services.

The job of a firefighter does not necessarily have to do with fire fighting, in fact, this is just a small part of the service they provide. A firefighter is involved in emergency services like heart attacks and other accidents.

The duties of a firefighter are the following:

Maintenance of Apparatus and Station

Never ending education training

Community education

Building inspection

Public service

The services firefighters provide could not function effectively without the support of different civilian personnel such as the community services, personnel, vehicle maintenance, warehouse management, wellness, technical services and administration.

Indeed, the services a firefighter provides to the community is essential for overall protection and safety.

Would you consider being a firefighter? Employment in firefighter positions can be quite competitive. Every year, fire departments get a lot of programs for any available work. Here are sensible methods you can follow if you’re interested to contend for these challenging but satisfying jobs.

Get an EMT License

Many fire divisions require firefighters to complete the Emergency Medical Tech (EMT) training and certification. Finishing EMT instruction and certification will be to your benefit when searching for a firefighter job.

Check Fire Department Websites

Find fire department websites for the neighborhood or place you’re considering and search for any opening. When the fire division does not have its own site, you’ll normally find details on the city/municipal/area website. Search frequently to find out when they will be employing. You will also see information concerning specific qualifications, together with the procedures, programs, and documentation you need to complete.

Search for Work Outside the Neighborhood

Everybody wants to work near his workplace. However, because of the quantity of new firefighting roles, you shouldn’t focus on one specific fire division. Despite the fact that fire divisions require that you remain in a particular fire station, many will allow you to make certain changes for yourself. Bear in mind that at the outset of your work, you must be flexible and willing to compromise.

Consider Firefighter Positions Offering Lower Application Fees

If you are a beginner to firefighting, consider searching for jobs that have lower application fees. This would increase the amount of jobs that you can apply for.

Opt at Becoming a Volunteer Firefighter

Volunteer firefighters perform the same positions as career or professional firefighters. By opting for a volunteer firefighter position, you’ll get some good and terrific experience and accomplish requirements for the firefighting training. This will provide you with an edge when looking for a permanent firefighting job in the future.

Consider the Possibility of Becoming a Federal Firefighter

Consider other sorts of firefighting professions like working for and within the government. You may find such positions in the navy, military, and many more. The dedication to serving will be positively seen by fire divisions. This will provide you with an advantage when registering in some neighborhood fire department. There is also the opportunity for training and a better income in firefighting within the local division with such experience.

Complete Job Programs Carefully

Make sure that you study all of the firefighter work programs carefully so you can submit all the needed documents and acquire all the necessary knowledge. It is important that you work this out carefully because there may be no second chances for you.

The Salem firefighters are commissioned to protect properties, lives and environment by providing services and safety as their number one priority.

Their vision is to

Provide excellent service to clients and exceed people’s expectations both inside and outside the organization.

Become responsive of the clients changing needs.

Become an organization of motivated and highly trained professionals.

Be proactive in helping and planning the community’s future.

To become a highly respected organization.

As public servants to the community they serve, they are accountable for:

Integrity – They understand that the people’s trust to the organization plays an integral part of their performance. They are committed to be honest, accountable and great sense of ethical behavior.

Professional excellence – They demonstrate high professional standards and excellence in their work. They ensure to provide the best service for the community they serve through continuous training and professional development. Also, they respect the diversity of the community by providing quality and compassionate service for everyone.

Community Involvement and Service – The Salem firefighters are committed to fulfil their responsibility in community involvement.

Shared leadership and teamwork – They believe that to be more effective in serving the community, the people are part of the organization. They can give opinions and feedbacks for the betterment of the services.

Health and safety – To fulfil their mission well, they believe that health and safety play an essential part. They provide safety programs and quality health services to ensure the well-being and readiness.

With the mission, vision and goals of the Salem firefighters, they thought that as much as they want to provide excellent service to the community, they can also provide the same for their colleagues and the organization as a whole.

In 2008, they established the Salem Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums composed of seventeen members. They believe that they have the talent and expertise to support the firefighters by performing at functions, funerals, civic and other community events. The band pays respect and homage to their fallen sisters and brothers by playing the Highland Bagpipes.

The band is funded by IAFF Union and in the previous year, they performed at more than thirty events.

The group of people composing the band started from their mission to help the community and thought of taking a step further to show their talents. The reason why this band was created.